When was the last time you heard Konkani songs of greats like H Britton played live in public? Mumbai-based Allan Vaz, a staunch promoter of Goan music, hopes to revive Konkani music in the big city by making the language the focus at his gigs.
The musician, with hits like Kalzac Bhettoi, and Isabella, organised the first Konkani World Music Awards in Goa in 2020. He’s getting groovy this May with a unique concept for the Goan Ball on May 20 at the Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana in Santa Cruz, West. He broached the idea of playing 70 per cent Konkani music with the event organisers, and they agreed. “It is a first since bands play a mixed bag and only a handful of the popular Konkani numbers. We aim to bring in some unknown songs from the old composers.” They’ll be performing compositions by contemporary Goan songwriters as well.
Set aside your Kate Perry and her likes, Allan, and croon to old cantaram like Kupantlo Chondrim, sing along to Tambde Rosa, and who can forget Bebdo by Chris Perry, sung by Lorna? says Allan Vaz, who’ll be performing at the event. “With modern music taking over the old tunes, I wanted to get back the love for Konkani music. The idea is to re-introduce old songs to the youngsters today. After our last event at Willington Gymkhana, we got positive feedback to continue with Konkani music.”
He hopes that events like these will boost Konkani music, especially among the youth. “There are a lot of youngsters who are writing fantastic originals. They need to push their music out there. That was what we tried to do with the music awards-to recognize the best original music produced in the language. We need to get Konkani back in the mainstream,” he signs off.
